Chairman delighted as Dons land their Man-ning

Chairman Pete Winkelman said he was pleased to draw a ling under a ‘hectic couple of weeks’ by confirming Liam Manning in charge of MK Dons this morning (Friday).

The 35-year-old has been confirmed as head coach at Stadium MK, replacing Russell Martin following his departure to Swansea City almost two weeks ago.

While names were linked with the job, none were as concrete as when Manning raced into the favourite’s spot on Tuesday. He left Belgian side Lommel, who he guided to third in Belgian Division 1 B last term, before signing the deal to take over at the helm at Stadium MK.

Winkelman said: “We are really excited to welcome Liam Manning to the football club. It has been a hectic couple of weeks but we are delighted to now be in a position to introduce him as our new head coach and be able to look forward to what the future can bring.

“We will give Liam and his coaching team all the support they need as they navigate their way through the frantic nature of EFL football and I am sure our supporters will do just the same, starting Saturday.”

Sporting Director Liam Sweeting added: “I am delighted to welcome Liam Manning to MK Dons as our new head coach.

“Liam is someone we have known about for a while. He is an excellent coach with a really strong reputation for working with and developing young players and, as soon as we were granted permission to talk to him, it became evidently clear that he was the right man to take us forward.

“Liam’s work, not only in overhauling Lommel’s style of play but also finishing third in his first season, was extremely impressive and we look forward to seeing what he can achieve with our talented group this campaign and in the future.

“I’d like to thank City Football Group and the staff at Lommel for their cooperation and professionalism. We do appreciate the challenge of replacing a manager at this time of the season and we wish them well with their process.”